Gold Heading for First Back-to-Back Weekly Drop Since October

Gold is poised for the first two-week decline since October before data expected to show that American employers added more than 200,000 jobs last month.

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Strength in the U.S. economy is backing the case for the Federal Reserve to raise interest rates, curbing gold’s appeal because the metal generally gives investors returns only through price gains. Bullion for immediate delivery was little changed at $1,265.22 an ounce by 11:30 a.m. in London, according to Bloomberg generic pricing. The metal dropped 1.5 percent this week, the most since December.

“Some investors are selling out of gold ahead of the release of the big jobs number today,” Robin Bhar, an analyst at Societe Generale SA in London, said by e-mail.

The metal is still up 6.8 percent this year amid concern about austerity measures in Greece and as central banks in Europe and Asia announced more stimulus to bolster economic growth. Investors have added to bullion holdings in exchange-traded funds for the past month, bringing assets to the highest level since October.

Futures for April delivery rose 0.2 percent to $1,264.60 on the Comex in New York on Friday. A measure of price swings over 100 days was at 17.4, near the highest since March, data compiled by Bloomberg show.

Silver and platinum were little changed in London, while palladium added 0.3 percent to $795.63 an ounce. The metal is up 2.9 percent for the week, the most since November.